Gig recap
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Wow, what a summer! Since May, I’ve been on a whirlwind rock and roll escapade. Here’s a (very) brief overview of all the great bands I saw, shows I played, and fun people I partied with! Let’s start with the immensely successful Under My Heels festival which took place May 8 at the Magic Bag in Ferndale. The brainchild of Nice Device front woman Alicia Gbur, the show was pulled of by her, Claudia Leo of No Fun Records (also of the Avatars, and my new band Coronados), and myself. We had a blast organizing the event and promoting it, and all our hard work paid off. The nearly sold-out crowd (although some accounts say it was fully sold out) got the pleasure of witnessing a handful of Detroit’s best female-lead acts. The Hard Lessons kicked off the night with soul-shaking rock and roll. One of the hottest trios in the mid-west by far, the Hard Lessons may come off as just three young kids from Lansing, but once they start rocking, people are usually blown right out of their seats. Guitarist/vocalist Gin puts the energy and spontaneity of legendary drummer Keith Moon into his guitar playing. The Anvil, the Hard Lessons’ drummer, is one of the steadiest in town, and organ player/vocalist Ko Ko Louise’s vocals are SO FINE, you’d swear she was a young black girl from Detroit City, circa 1962.
Up next was my new band, Coronados. This rock and roll band was formed in Argentina in 2001, by No Fun Records head Charlie Lorenzi. He moved to Detroit suburb of Ann Arbor in 2003, and reformed the group with me on bass, and Claudia Leo of the Avatars (also an Argentinean native) on drums. The Under My Heels fest was our second show, and the Hard Lessons are an extremely hard act to follow, but we knocked ‘em dead. The Avatars and the Nice Device followed, and my other band The Sirens closed the night with an Evel Kneivel-inspired performance.
The biggest party of the summer was definitely my 25th birthday, but not because it was my birthday, because it was also the weekend of the Rock City Festival. The two-day, free outdoor festival was incredible. Many of Detroit’s very best rock bands performed. The Sirens played on Saturday afternoon, just after the Go. It was nerve wracking as hell to play outside and in the light of day, but we did nicely. Amazing performances were given by the Detroit Cobras, esQuire, the Hentchmen, the Paybacks, the Go, Blanche, Brendan Benson, Back in Spades, Grande Nationals, the Avatars and more. On the first night, Saturday, I was celebrating my birthday. After the festival, my friends and I headed over to the Lager House for the after-party where the Hard Lessons sang happy birthday to me, and there was tequila for everyone! It was a very memorable weekend altogether.
July is a bit fuzzier. Over 4th of July weekend, The Sirens performed at the 2004 Comerica Tastefest, which is an annual food tasting festival in Grand Circus Park (downtown Detroit). On Saturday, my friend Jackie O and I met up with Baby Ruth and Jacquie of MotorCityRocks.com and headed out to the Tastefest for VIP tent action with Jet. The hot Aussies put on a great show. After their set Jackie O and I waltzed past security to the back stage area where we hung out with the band, and helped liberate the guitar player who had accidentally locked himself in his trailer. The band was super nice, and let us hang out until they had to go.
The Sirens performed on the last day of Tastefest, over on the Pure Detroit stage. We had a very respectable turnout, considering it was 2 in the afternoon. And we played exceptionally well, probably because we hadn’t had much to drink yet. All that changed after hanging out in the bar in the basement of the Fisher building for a few hours. In the afternoon the Sirens (with Jacquie in tow) sauntered over to the main stage to catch the Romantics. Before we could bat an eyelash, we were invited on stage to sing along with the Romantics during their hit “What I Like About You” in front of thousands of people! It was without a doubt the highlight of the weekend.
The rest of July and August were filled with much fun. I saw a lot of bands including Haf/Life, Hey Sailor, Nice Device, Devil Doll, Kings of Nuthin, Dixie Hustler, Back in Spades, Aquarius Void, Brant Bjork, Cyril Lords, Muggs, Hentchmen, Dollfaces, Detroit City Council, the Woggles!, Tough and Lovely, and Capitol Cities. Coronados played with the Foxx from Albuquerque (wow, was that fun!), Demolition Dollrods, Texas Terri (we finally meet!), and the Midnight Creeps. The Sirens played with the Grande Nationals and the Paybacks at a nearly sold-out Magic Bag show in mid-August, which resulted in one of the longest nights of my life (in a good way of course!). The highlight was me and Baby Ruth walking through the streets of Ferndale with Scotty and Tony from the Grande Nationals trying to (one) find our car and (two) not find the police, while singing the theme from Three’s Company. The Sirens also headed out of town for a night in Columbus for the Tough and Lovely CD release party, which was a blazing success!
In late July Detroit said goodbye to another of it’s shining stars, Miss Jackie O (nee Scarlette O’Harlette). This musician and burlesque diva packed up her shit (again) and moved to jolly old England, London to be more specific. Show her some love on her new website at www.scarletteoharlette.com!
Labor Day weekend was a rock and roll frenzy. Between the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival, the Mussel Beach Fest, Arts, Beats, & Eats, and the Ford International Detroit Jazz Fest, there was no way you could leave the house and not find some awesome (and free!) music somewhere. Friday night we saw the Tough and Lovely for their Detroit CD release party at the Lager House. The show was packed to the gills, it was super fun. Saturday Jacquie and I walked from my apartment down to the Hamtramck Fest to see Back in Spades play. After maneuvering through the drunks, kids, and perogi stands, we finally made it to the stage. I really like Back in Spades. It’s easy to say “they rock,” but they really do! If you are going to CMJ in October, check them out. The rest of Labor Day weekend was a blur of eastside partying, pool time, playing with my new kitten, and hanging out with my friends. And with that, the summer ended.
Of course, the rock and roll debauchery did not end. More on that next time (including details of the Sirens show at the Hard Rock Café with the Detroit Cobras and Nathaniel Mayor). For now, here are some tidbits on what’s new in Detroit. Label signings! The Fags recently stuck a deal with Sire Records; Brendan Benson and Blanche ink with V2; and the Muggs (oh, how I love the Muggs) signed with Detroit-based label Times Beach. Speaking of Times Beach, their songstress Audra Kubat will be leaving the D for the bright lights of New York City. Good luck Audra! The Paybacks’ new album “Harder and Harder” received great reviews in both Spin and Rolling Stone this month. In bar news, Hamtramck staple Lili’s has reopened its doors under new management, and is now known as The Painted Lady. I was there for the big grand opening with the Go, a show that will be considered legendary years from now, I’m sure. They played but only three songs before the cops told the Go to stop. The Painted Lady is located in a residential area (as are most bars in Hamtramck), and I guess the neighbors didn’t take too kindly to the Go’s massive wall of sound. Too bad.
Up next: The No Fun Records Sounds from the Underground Festival takes place at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor on Oct 16th. The Sirens, Avatars, Coronados, Hard Lessons and Sissy are on the bill, with Queen Bee hosting the event. What a night that will be. In November, Coronados head off for our first South American tour (well, my first South American tour, the band originated there!). We’ll be performing at the Buenos Aries Stomp, as well as other surrounding cities, including Montevideo.
That’s it for now kids. I’m off to the big Hentchmen, 5678s, Dirtbombs show at the Magic Stick now. Later!
All photos by Christopher Chouinard www.fotogink.com
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